I stayed up much too late because I wanted to finally be done with Stranger Things and watched the last 3 episodes in a row. It's nice to have closure, but I was more pleased by the fact that the show played Sweet Jane by the Cowboy Junkies (yes, I have that CD). Yes, it's a Lou Reed song (I have that CD too) but there's a lot more Cowboy Junkies than there is Lou Reed. They also ended the series with Bowie's Heroes. And that's a great song. So, I didn't go to bed until 2:30 AM.
It's been summer-time hot for days, and every night it's rained with thunder and lightning. The first two nights I had to dose one of my dogs with "calming chews" that contain melatonin, chamomile, tryptophan, ginger, passion flower and thiamine mononitrate. Basically, the same stuff humans take to chill out before bedtime, but formulated to be tasty for dogs. Of course, I haven't put away the winter stuff yet as there is a forecast for frosty weather next week. April is crazy.
What's really crazy is that I made the mistake of actually eating breakfast before I went to the gym. Which meant instead of just eating half a banana with my morning vitamins, I put banana slices on top of toasted ciabatta bread smeared with peanut butter. It's been my staple breakfast for a few weeks now, but usually when I plan to skip the gym. It might've been the chunky peanut butter, but I felt a bit stodgy, as if I hadn't been able to fully digest the meal. Normally I use creamy peanut butter, but super chunk is what was in the cupboard.
My routine was askew as well since there was an unknown person on elliptical #1 and Wind Breaker was of course on #3. Machines #2 and #4 aren't worth using. They're just spacers. Yes, they operate but don't display their info properly so they might not be programmable. I opted to do 13+ minutes on the Stair Master, then popped onto the vacated elliptical for 35 minutes. Pull-ups weren't great. I felt the heaviness of chunky peanut butter weighing me down in the pit of my tummy. Next time I'll just stick to half a banana and a cup of instant coffee. Yes, instant coffee does not contain those nasty LDL-raising diterpenes (cafestol and kahweol).
Because it's Friday, I wanted to push some weights. The bench I like was available so I did most of the DB Shoulder routine, skipping the last set just as a cascade of kids flooded the free weight area. My cue to exit. Happily, the Aerobics Room was completely abandoned. It wasn't as cold as I wanted, probably because there had been a Senior class earlier. But what I did notice was that my sciatica wasn't being horrible today. I did take 600 mg of ibuprofen this morning, but other than my foot going numb during Bird Dog planks, that nerve bundle was fairly quiet today. Yaaay!
I have learned my lesson though: no tempting fate by pushing the limits of my stretching abilities. I did get the name of a recommended acupuncturist but he's down in Chinatown in NYC. My brother's wife's cousin spoke quite highly about this doctor's treatment for chronic allergies, as well as sciatica. While I'm probably never going to venture to Chinatown for acupuncture, it's always good to keep options open. Just in case.
The Merlin ID bird identification app on my phone has upgraded and is less clunky and loads more useful. I bought a few Hawaiian shirts from a Hawaiian outfitter, Hilo Hattie, and I'm apparently a boy's size M. They have some patterns I really like but the women's shirts are all cut for people not like me: too blousy or weirdly off the shoulder (completely uncomfortable and impractical).
I read somewhere that middle-aged Asian women tend to dress like boys. Not just dress like them. I find myself barely unbuttoning my flannel shirt and just pulling the shirt along with the long-sleeve T underneath off all in one movement. Just like a 10 yr old would. Much less fussy, much more efficient. Much easier to put on that way too. And I'd probably wear the same shirt and pants the next day anyway... Perks of having super dry skin and not sweating very much. Unless it's blistering hot.
The dogs think it's much too hot to run around outside, although the multitude of new smells keeps them occupied when we go for walks. Peeper frogs are trilling, and cicadas are much too early this year. I'm still not putting away my snow shovel just yet.
17 April 2026 1:03-3:18
Sunny Friday but Late Night
Basics w sciatica & breakfast
Matrix StairMaster (R) (1:07-1:2)
Manual timer 12 + 2:24
Speed 5 (49-45) / 2 (36) / 1 (29)
Steps 610
Floors 38
Cal: 93
Hr n/a
Precor elliptical #1 (1:26-2:02
Program 2
Time: 30 + 5 (5394)
Distance: 2.77
Cal: 304
Precor HR: 151, 194
Fitbit: 45-144
HGPU 17 (not great)
Incl DB Press s/s Lateral Raises s/s Rev Incline Flys
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